Poland: Smaller supply leads to higher frozen veg prices

A smaller supply of some frozen vegetables on the EU market has translated into higher prices for th…

A smaller supply of some frozen vegetables on the EU market has translated into higher prices for these products. According to information supplied by Foodnews, the market is mostly lacking frozen onions, cauliflowers and broccoli. There is also a smaller supply of carrots, parsley and green beans, report analysts of BGZ Bank BNP Paribas.

According to Foodnews, the average price of Polish frozen onions in the first half of October amounted to 0.43 Euro/kg and was up by 23 percent compared to the same period a year ago. In the 2015/2016 season, prices can also be expected to rise significantly.

According to GUS, Poland's domestic production of frozen vegetables in the first eight months of this year amounted to 325 thousand tonnes and was 1.7 percent lower than last year. What's more, PROFEL (the European Association of Fruit and Vegetable Processors) announced in August that the production of vegetables for processing could also be significantly hit by drought in other western countries of the EU.

The smaller supply of vegetables for processing has additionally resulted in an increase in raw material prices. According to the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, an institution under the National Research Institute, the purchase price of peeled onions for processing in September averaged 1.11 złoty/kg (0.26 Euro) and was about 48 percent higher than in the same period a year ago.

In the case of cauliflower and broccoli, prices in September, compared to the same month of 2014, have been 7 percent higher, while carrots have become about 30 percent more expensive than last year. Only green peas and beans have registered lower prices than in 2014.